A prominent Irish newspaper has published an opinion piece on the US oil embargo against Cuba and its consequences. It calls on Ireland to include the issue on its international agenda and recalls Cuba's solidarity aid.
Dublin, February 15, 2026. The Irish newspaper “Irish Examiner” published an opinion article last Friday on the negative impact on Cuba of the measures announced by the U.S. on January 29. The piece states: “Right now, the warning lights are flashing. The UN has warned that Cuba faces the risk of a humanitarian collapse as fuel supplies dwindle, with cascading consequences for transportation, hospitals, food distribution, and basic services.”
Also points out that one can “discuss the Cuban government, but it is impossible to talk about the island’s daily reality without mentioning the external pressure that exacerbates every shortage: the US blockade, the embargo, call it what you will.” It adds that: “Whether the embargo is presented as illegal under international law or as a moral failing on the face of it, the practical result is the same: it restricts trade, finance, and energy; it encourages overcompliance by banks and suppliers; it turns routine purchases into diplomatic maneuvers. And once it is accepted that this is a crisis with a human cost, silence becomes complicity.”
The article calls for all eyes to be turned on Cuba, noting that the UN has warned that the country faces the risk of a humanitarian “collapse” as fuel supplies dwindle, with cascading consequences for transportation, hospitals, food distribution, and basic services.
It also suggests that Ireland, as a small island that has long championed a foreign policy based on values, prestige, and, at the very least, experience, should use its voice—bilaterally, through the EU, and at the UN—to press for humanitarian space: a relaxation of sanctions that would allow fuel, medicine, medical equipment, and financial channels to operate without fear. It emphasizes that it is possible to insist that collective punishment is not an acceptable diplomatic tool and that a visit to the Oval Office on next month's agenda could also demonstrate courage in the causes it chooses to champion.
It is also worth remembering Cuba's history of solidarity. Its Henry Reeve medical brigades have been deployed to disasters and epidemics abroad, including responses to Ebola and COVID-19, with Cuban doctors working in multiple countries under immense pressure. Regardless of one's opinion of Havana, the impulse to send doctors instead of weapons is a type of internationalism the world could use more often.
The full article can be found at the following link: https://www.irishexaminer.com/opinion/ourview/arid-41792849.html